Apparatus for raising submerged bodies.



sa Q'I'RNS. APPARATUS FOR IIAISING SUBMERGED BODIES.

APPLICATION ED IULY I9. i915.

Patented Dec. 14, 191.5.

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4 NETE@ HARRY BYRNS, OF HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, SSIGNOR, OF ONE-H ILFEO WILLIAM F.' CONDON, 0F HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA.

APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUBMERGED BODIES.

Specification of Letters latent.

patented Dec. 14,

Application filed July 19, 19.15. Serial No. 40,771.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, HARRY Bruns, of the city of Hamilton, in the county of Wentworth, Provincepof Ontario, Dominion of Canada, have invented certin new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Raising Submerged Bodies, of which the following is a specification. y

My invention relates to improvements in the apparatus for raising ships or other submerged bodies and the object of the present invention is to devise an apparatus for performing this operation which is simpler, cheaper and more efficient than those formerly in use; a further object is to devise means by which the water may be expelled from the various compartments of the ship l thus increasing the buoyancy to such an eX- tent that the ship will float; a further object is-to devise a means for raising ships which is more easily employed than former systems; and a still further object, is to provide means whereby the medium employed to raise the ship may be readily removed therefrom.

My invention consists of the construction and arrangement of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 showsl an elevational view of my apparatus as employed in raising a submerged ship. Fig. 2 is a submerged ship as shown inv Fig. 1 with some portions broken away. -Fig. 3 is an enlarged sec-v tional plan showing a compartment of a submerged ship.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different views.

1 is a submerged ship.

Q'is the surface ofthe water.

3 are lai ge inatable bags or ballons having a receiving portion 4 and a safety valve 5. rl`hese bags are suitably secured to the ship by means of the chains or cables 6.

y 7 is an air compressor or pump supported at the surface on a float 8.

9, are tubes connecting the compressor and the balloons 3 and secured to the latter in the vreceiving portion 4.

91 are suitable valves in these-tubes Aadjacent to their upper ends at which they arev attached to the compressor. y

10 is an inflatable bag made of strong waterproof material and having a safety valve 11 '(see Fig. 3)and a' receiving portion 12 provided with a check valve 12X into which is fitted the end of the iniiatingftube 9. 13 are the port holes ofthe ship. 14 are main pipes laid in the ship by the device and comprising the cross pipes 141. and 142 and a plurality of pipes 143 extending longitudinally of the ship and connecting the pipes 141 and 142 together.

15 are branch pipes coupled at one end to the pipes 143 at suitable intervals and at l the opposite end to the receiving portion 12 of the bags 10.

16 is a globe valve for controlling the flow through the pipes 15.

17 is a pipe leading vfrom the compressor 7 to the pipe 141.

18 is anoutlet provided with a closing vaive 19.

The procedure followed in employing my method is as follows: The empty bags or balloons 3 are submergedand attached to the ship in any suitable manner. The chains 6 'may be fastened directly toI the port holes as shown at A, Fig. 1, or they may be passed completely around the ship as shown at B, Fig. 1. The bags are then inliated from the surface by means of the compressor 7. Bursting of the bags is prevented by means of the safety 'valves 5.

After inflation the valves 91 are closed and dition are inserted into the various com partments as shown at C, Fig. 2. The pipes 141, 142 143 and 15 are then laid and connected. The globe valves lG-are closed and the pipe 17 attached the valve 19 being opened. By this means water in the pipes 141L and 142 and143 is` all blown out. rlFhe .yalve 19 -is then closed and the valve 16 opened inflating the bags 10 which then aslsume approximately' the` form of the compartment and displaces the water therefrom. After inflation their inflating tubesimay be removed from the'compressor after closing the corresponding valves 91 in' such' tubes. The safety valves 11; 1n these bags prevent busting orlthe same.

Asuilicient number ofthe bags' 10 are employed to increase thebuoyancy of the. to a sullicient degree to enable it to. Hoet, after which it lmay be towed to any' ship suitable point. I v

Alfter theship laasbeeny safely raised and suitably located-theba-gs 3 and 10may be readily removed. Theoperation of eXpelling the air therefrom is accomplished easily by simply opening the various valves 91.

From the foregoing it will be seen that my invention provides avery simple and effectivemeans whereby al ship `of any dimenvsions'may vbe floated and furthermore the labor entailed' is very 'small since it is only necessary for a diver to insert the deflated bags in the 'various compartments after which theyv are inflated. Further the re moval of the bags from the raised ship is very simply accomplished.

' What I claim as my invention is:

1. An apparatus'for raising a submerged` body having la plurality of compartments therein, comprising main pipes extending crosswise of vthe interior of the body-at each end, pipes extendinglongitudinally of the body between the compartments thereof and connectedto the cross pipes, means f0.1`

forcing compressed air 'into the pipes and therein, comprising main pipes'v extending crosswise of the interior of the body at each end onecbeing provided with an inlet and the other with an outlet, pipes extendingv longitudinally ofi/the body between the compartments thereof arid connected to the cross pipes, `means for forcingcompressed air into the inlet of the cross pipe and an inflatable bag located in each compartment, a pipe connection between each bag and the main pipes, a closing valve in each pipe connection and a closing valve for the outlet of the other cross pipe.'

HARRY BYRNS,

Witnesses:

GERTRUDE NicHoLsoN, LiLA MCCONACHIE.

Copies of 'this patent lmay be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the `Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C.I 

